


The Recruit

by Sands1593



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 15:34:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12061908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sands1593/pseuds/Sands1593
Summary: When someone new comes to town...Like, comment and let me know what you think!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!

There was a peace about standing between the posts as the sun lit the field or closed out a long day. There was something about strapping the velcro so tight to ensure the gloves don't move, that calmed the keeper. There was always the smell of fresh cut grass that aroused the nose like a normal persons cup of coffee. This was a new year, this was a new season, this was the moment that the blonde realized her dreams and it was all cut short with a ball right to the face.

"Ow! What the hell Syd!" The keeper rubbed her forehead as she shot a deadly glare towards the brunette. 

The blonde was day dreaming about the upcoming season of her senior year at UNC when her best friend fired a shot on goal not realizing the state the keeper was in. 

"Whoops, maybe you should get your mind off the girl you took home last night and focus on the beautiful game you have in front of you!" 

Sydney was always teasing her friend about her late night hook ups and fiascos but she knew deep down there was a reason for the lack of commitment in her best friend.

"I was just thinking about this upcoming year and what it all means for our careers, not some girl who was a lousy lay."

Sydney rolled her eyes and drew her leg back to fire another one off when the coach blew the whistle. 

The team came jogging from all corners of the field into a small huddle. Most of these girls had played together since freshman year and had learned one another from scratch. Sure they had their moments of irritation and disagreement, but at the end of the day, they were family. 

"We have a lot to think about this year with the season opener just around the corner. For starters, we have seven seniors this year who will be working towards their future careers in soccer or whatever it is that they pursue. We have some tough opponents that will be great contenders for those of you that are new and need to learn the ropes and we have a lot of work to do in this brand new stadium that the school so graciously provided to us." 

"Uh coach, there are only six of us seniors" Abby Wambach interrupted as politely as possible. 

Ashlyn started to laugh, "Coach doesn't even know his own team." The girls all started to giggle and Greg cleared his throat and calmed the giggles down.

"We will have seven graduating seniors once our new recruit transfers in next week."

The girls all started to look around the huddle. This was news to them all and it was not welcomed news. A new person means new chemistry, it means new playing styles and new attitude. This was not the time to be adding a new player. They were contenders for the championship this year and adding a new ingredient into the mix was not a good idea.

"WHAT?" Ashlyn said sternly. "Coach, every other player has to come to practice and try out with us to make sure the chemistry works, why does she get the pass?" 

Ashlyn was the team captain and was a great leader on and off of the field. She had her personal issues that only those closest knew about but she was definitely liked by most. 

"She is transferring from Germany. It was between Penn State and us and we got the bid first. She is not going to disappoint you ladies, I promise. Frankfurt was ready to sign her, trust me, she will only add to our team and as far as positioning she will be in your back line, so play nice." 

Greg looked at Ashlyn with stern eyes that said all he intended too. Ashlyn could not afford to get on the coaches bad side, senior year was the year that all the recruits start bidding on players, if Ashlyn pushed the wrong buttons, she wouldn't start and would get bypassed.

"What's her name?" One of the freshman girls who obviously was not as upset as the five seniors asked.

"Alexandra Krieger. She is an American who started off at Penn State her freshman year and did a foreign exchange program in Germany. She was noticed early on by their majors and started moonlighting as a sub. Just recently she completed her program and when she announced her return instead of signing, we were one of three colleges to get notified."

Tobin smiled and looked at her teammates. "I know of her, she's good, she's really good so we are going to have to step our game up to meet her where she's at."

"Thank you Tobin, thank you for your words of affirmation. On that note, we will meet here on Monday and be prepared to start practice with fresh minds, fresh attitudes and a new family member."

The huddle broke and all the girls split towards the locker room.

"I cannot believe he didn't tell us before now, that's shitty!" Wambach bitched as she got undressed for the showers.

"Nothing we can do about it now guys, we just have to deal with it as it comes." The keeper said trying to reassure her friends but most importantly herself. This girl was going to be in her back line and she had worked so hard to perfect those girls back there meaning one of her friends would most likely take the bench so she could start. 

Rapinoe came around the corner and wrapped her arm around her best friend. "Lets all get wings and beers. It's the weekend and we only have one of these left before we start into season." Ashlyn nodded and headed towards the one thing that would wipe her slate clean for the evening. 

The girls showered quickly, all looking forward to their night out. They went to their normal spot on campus, The Slippery Noodle, and grabbed a booth in the corner. The waitress came over and winked at Ashlyn as she set down the beers she knew the girls would order. They were some of the best soccer players in collegiate soccer and were by no means hiding their popularity. 

"You are so nasty Ashlyn Michelle." Sydney scoffed at her friend who had a smirk on her face. The two girls shared an artsy modern house with Tobin and Rapinoe. Sydney was the only straight girl in the group, even Abby was gay, but that didn't seem to phase her, these were her friends.

The blonde keeper just smiled and raised her glass to her friends. "To this season, to us and to all of the wonderful memories we have shared together. I look forward to taking the field with all of you for the last first time this year." 

The girls all cheered, clinked their glasses together and let their night flow how they all had hoped.


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lemme know what you think and if you want more

The day was dragging, classes were slow and worst of all, Ashlyn misgauged the amount of time the line at the local deli took and ended up missing lunch entirely in order to make it to organic chem.

Ultimately her dream was to become Dr. Ashlyn Harris. There was a stigma surrounding her family and her small town, somehow it seemed impossible for people to get out of there. The blonde knew that the only way to make it to college would be to play soccer and then from there she would exercise her right to be whoever she wanted to. 

Kelly O’hara was a sophomore soccer player that happened to be in a lot of the same study groups due to their overlapping majors. 

“Hey cap, you ready for our first official practice tonight?”

Ashlyn huffed and shrugged. “I want to believe this will all be really easy but I have an off feeling. I mean, who comes into a established soccer season, senior year? 

The blonde went back down to her work, tapping her pencil incessantly until her stomach broke the trance.

“Someones hungry.” 

“Yeah, I didn't get to eat lunch and if I eat now, ill be sick at practice.” When Ashlyn looked up, she saw Sydney walking with Dom, her boyfriend, toward their corner of the library. 

“Hey bud! How the hell are you?” Ashlyn stood up and grabbed Dom’s hand and pulled him into a hug. 

The blonde and Dom got along really well which was excellent for Sydney since those two people were everything to her. 

BEEP BEEP BEEP. The alarm on the phone kept beeping while Ashlyn, Syd and Kelly packed their bags and got ready to leave the library. 

The trio walked into the locker room where the girls were chatting about everything from boys in their classes, upcoming parties to attend and the season that was about to start with the first practice just minutes ahead. 

The keeper got dressed in her usual getup and pulled her long wavy hair into a high pony tail on the top of her head. As she was leaving the locker room, she tapped Syd on the ass and headed outside. “See you out there Squirt.”

One by one the girls piled out to find their teammates stretching in the middle of the field. About five minutes into stretching the coach ran over and started to set up teams for drills.

“Wambach, Tobin, Rapinoe you guys will take the north end of the field. Cap, Syd and Kelly you take the south end of the field, I want two sophomores and three juniors on each side. Split.”

The teams started breaking out to the designated area for a warm up scrimmage. No one was new to the team this year so this was not one of those beginner practices where everyone needs to become acquainted.   
Ashlyn lined herself up in goal and made sure her gloves were tight and her head was ready. The whistle blew and the ball was off. Rapinoe used her speed to break away and give Tobin an option up field. The ball went soaring over Kelly, right to Rapinoe. With some fancy footwork she made her way past the back line and took a shot on goal from 15 yards out. The blonde jumped and heard the whistle mid air and looked away just in time to see the coach standing next to someone. The ball went soaring into the back of the net and Rapinoe fell to her knees in a slide.

“Oh come on Coach, what the hell was that. You cant call off a play when the ball is heading towards me.” The blonde ranted as she stood up not able to see the figure anymore as the coach had turned and was talking to her. 

“Huddle up everyone.” Greg yelled from the sideline. “Hustle.”

Everyone came jogging from their positions with Ashlyn slowly meandering into the group, hoping to prolong whatever and whoever was on the backside of him. 

“Nice of you to join us Harris, now that everyone is here, I would like to formally introduce to you all, your new left back, Alexandria Krieger.” 

The brunette stepped forward a little bit and gave a small wave and a large toothy grin. Hellos were exchanged and handshakes were given but when it came to Ashlyn, Greg stopped and cleared his throat. 

“This here is our captain and your personal coach on the field, Ashlyn Harris.”

Ashlyn had looked up for the first time since she had joined the huddle due to the sun hitting her right in her face and was speechless. 

The brunette reached out first and offered her hand to shake. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, I have read a lot of great things about you and I cannot wait to work with you out on the field.” 

Ashlyn was still grasping for words to say. This woman was beautiful, absolutely flawless and here she was making a fool of herself.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too. Our back line was pretty damn good before you, so lets see what you can do.” With that statement the keeper turned and walked back towards the goal where she felt safest. Sydney ran out after her. 

“Why so bitchy? What’s up your ass tonight?” 

The keeper just shook her head. “I don't like change.” 

Greg was sort of surprised by how his captain was acting and apologized on her behalf. “I am sorry Ms. Krieger she is not normally so rude, hop onto their team and see what you can do with her.” 

“I get it sir, she has a newbie on her line that she doesn't know. We will figure it out.” With that she ran out and took her position right in front of the blonde.

“Great, now I have that to distract me.” Ashlyn muffled under her breath as she watched the brunette bend over and stretch in front of her while the ball was placed in the middle.  
The brunette heard a noise and turned around. “Where you talking to me? I thought I heard something.” 

Ashlyn was caught off guard. “No, no sorry I was just talking out loud. Watch the short blonde, she is fast and really savvy on her feet.” 

The left back nodded and winked and turned back around.

The captain looked up at the sky and sighed. 

This was going to be a long season if she couldn't pull herself together.


	3. Learning the ropes

Rapinoe started shooting up the field, dodging players like grenades. With a strong kick and the perfect angle, it went soaring over the half back line straight to the newcomer. Ashlyn started dishing out demands to her defense, hoping for a strong wall. Ali stopped the ball dead with her chest and started manhandling the ball right past the forwards who were ready to pounce. The brunette cleared the ball from the back of the field and returned to her spot winking at the goalkeeper on her way.

“Nice job Ali, keep that up and you won’t have any beefs with me.” 

The brunette smiled and continued to eye the field. Practice ended with a loud whistle from the sidelines. “Ladies, circle up. We have some small details to discuss and then you are free to hit the showers. It looks like we have a strong lineup for this year, I want to see all of you stepping up to master your position. Learn your neighbors, learn their strengths and weaknesses, learn them from start to finish, where you played tonight is where you will start to train for the season. Congratulations to Ali, you have named your spot in the defensive lineup.” Ali smiled as the team whooped and hollered.

“Now, go shower and let’s head out for our traditional start of the year beer.”

The girls all walked to the showers chatting with their friends about the start of the year in both class and soccer. Ali, being the new person, just meandered into the locker room by herself and looked around at everyone at their lockers. There was something different about the atmosphere here than in Germany, this was a family. Ashlyn came from the bathroom stalls sneaking past Ali on her way to the locker. She brushed up against her as she did and in passing stated that she could snatch the locker to her left. Ali smiled and started walking to the space that would soon be hers and just said thank you as Ashlyn started to pack up her shower belongings. The blonde started to shred her clothes, layer by layer. Ali was trying to focus on her own belongings when she saw a flash of dark ink to her right. She looked over as the blonde removed her long sleeve shirt and noticed the large tattoo covering her arm. The brunette took a deep breath in as she realized that she was staring. When the blonde turned to walk to the showers, the brunette caught a sight of the rigid abs the keeper was sporting. 

This was interesting, Ali was in a foreign head space. She had never obviously flirted with a woman before like she did earlier by winking at the keeper and she never had to take a deep breath to calm her nerves while staring at a female body before. “What the hell is going on?” The brunette thought to herself as she started to get undressed. As she was walking toward the showers, she could hear all of the laughing and joking that this team was doing. She was happy this is where she ended up.

The team was going to their usual spot, The Slippery Noodle, and as usual grabbed the largest booth in the corner. It was a school night, so there was a limit on how much the coach was willing to encourage, but even still, Greg bought four pitchers of beer for the ladies. The man filled a glass and stood up to raise his glass in a toast. “This year we are losing some of the greatest soccer players that this college has ever seen. I cannot wait to start this year with a win over Duke and I am even more exciting to see what you young fascinating ladies are going to do with your lives. To UNC, to you and to this family that we have created.” The women all raised their glasses and participated in the toast. Ashlyn was sitting in the middle of the table with her friends on both sides, when the waitress came over and started to chat with the blonde. Wambach and Rapinoe were to her left and started snickering at the flirtatious waitress when Ashlyn turned and gave them a snarl. “Dude, just ask her out already!” Rapinoe joked as the woman walked away. “How many times have I told you that I am not interested in a relationship right now?” 

“If you do not snag her, I am going to swoop in and work my magic!” Wambach said with a serious face but a joking tone. Ali was learning so much about her teammates during this small get together. She had figured that Abby was gay but Ashlyn and Rapinoe were not as obvious. Ali coughed a small bit when Rapinoe put her arm around the brunettes shoulder. “Hope you are okay with a bunch of trashy typical lesbians playing on your team.” Ali just smiled, “Doesn’t bother me, Europe isn’t exactly the straightest country ever, nothing I am not used too.” The keeper was eyeing the brunette trying to figure her out. Something about her intrigued the blonde, but there was way too much chemistry on the team to risk anything, and Ali wasn’t even gay. So the blonde was just settling into the idea of being close friends with the newcomer. As the bar started to close up and the girls started to finish off their drinks, Abby walked over to the bar and started talking to the bartender. After a few minutes the blonde came back as the music started to play over the speakers. 

“Working your ‘magic’ ?” Rapinoe joked. “Just trying to wake this boring bunch up” the taller woman responded. 

Ali stood up and started to dance around with a few of the juniors and Abby. Ashlyn was watching and decided to let herself have some fun regardless of how foolish she looked while dancing. The night was definitely going to go up from here, especially with the beers flowing through their veins and the music blasting through the speakers. The brunette walked over towards the blonde who was dressed in black ripped skinny jeans and a black t shirt with a gold chain. “Lets see what you got under that dark cool kid façade of yours.” Ali winked at the keeper and smiled with a wrinkled nose. Ashlyn was definitely not upset anymore over the change that was Ali Krieger.


End file.
